Twitch cofounder Justin Kan, who says he's been sober for 5 years, has turned his entrepreneurial energy toward crafting good-tasting non-alc wine. After year-long development effort surpassing 100 iterations he has debuted Woody's brand in Blanc de Blanc and Rose versions. Effort starts with premium California wine, removes alcohol, adds natural flavors and a touch of sugar, he posted. He claims to be in 70 locations so far, with store finder on website showing national footprint spanning specialty stores like Bi Rite in SF and L'Epicuriste in the Hamptons, wine stores like Noe Valley Wine & Spirits in SF and non-alc specialists like Killjoy Booze-Free Beverage Shop in Nashville . . . Partake Brewing has launched Pickleball Pils in collab with Association of Pickleball Players Tour. The new entry, which contains just 25 calories, is being made available at all 2024 APP tour stops and at some retailers across Canada and US.

So-called gut pops like Olipop and Poppi have made no secret of their intention to take on conventional CSDs, describing themselves as sodas and offering down-the-middle flavors like cola and ginger ale. But what if you start with a classic CSD brand once marketed by Pepsi and repurpose that into a gut pop? That's the unconventional bet that Suja Life is undertaking with deal announced this morning to acquire Slice CSD trademark. Deal for undisclosed terms picks up 1980s-vintage brand with view to relaunch it as "not just an all-natural, low-calorie soda, but one that delivers advantages for gut health with superior nutrition, function and taste," albeit with classic, nostalgic flavors consumers identify with the brand. Announcement didn't specify who the seller of the trademark was, and we haven't heard back to our inquiry on matter. The deal is the first since former Stone Brewing CEO Maria Stipp came in as CEO of Suja Life earlier this year (BBI, Feb 15), building on rollup strategy that started with functional shot marketer Vive Organic.

John Anderson Jr, a prominent figure in the world of beer distribution for decades, passed away at 74 on May 8. The Anderson family owned a far-flung empire of distributorships that was one of the largest in the country for years, though the family ultimately sold those companies. Its biggest distributorship was Ace (selling both Constellation and AB in Los Angeles), plus Paradise (Miller in HI), Mission (Coors in LA) as well as many brands in the Virgin Islands. For many years, John oversaw all those and frequently traveled between them. With separate distributors of each major brewer, John had a unique vantage point on what was going on in the industry. Then too, the distributorships were just one part of the larger business empire his father John Anderson Sr built. John Sr passed away in 2011.

Athletic Brewing finished last yr with the 2d-biggest organic volume gain and 2d-fastest growth trend among all Brewers Assn-defined craft cos, according to org's recently released data, behind only Yuengling. The non-alc brewer grew 50.5% to 258,455 bbls, slightly ahead of its previously noted 250K-bbl milestone. So how does Athletic plan to top that this year? As part of its biggest summer campaign to date, a core tactic is boosting sampling efforts by 25% this yr, cmo Andrew Katz told Adweek. Athletic logged "record sales" in Apr for the best mo in its 6-yr history, as brand continues to grow strong double digits in tracked scan data. And as for co's inaugural "Ask For Athletic Day," offering to pick up the tab for any 21+ consumer who ordered Athletic on-prem, early signs "point to a hit," the mag wrote. Visits to co's "store finder" section of its website reportedly leapt 750% over the daily avg with ecomm sales +68%.

Turns out Teamsters weren't just battling with Molson Coors as they tried to get new contract, but also with themselves behind the scenes. International Brotherhood took over negotiations back on Apr 28, putting a "trusteeship" in place over Local 997, reported the Fort Worth Report. "During the course of the local's dispute with the company, the International became aware of significant representational concerns and financial improprieties, and therefore initiated emergency trusteeship - to take needed action to restore proper representation," wrote gen prexy Sean M. O'Brien in message posted on local's website. A day after trusteeship began, a Local 997 member filed a petition demanding the reinstatement of its Local board. "That petition claims IBT took over because of low morale and concerns that the local chapter board were incompetent," per FWR.

Hemp advocates seemed to be in shock on Fri after amendment that would ban all ingestible hemp items with any level of THC passed house committee during Farm Bill markup Thurs, but vowed to continue to press for legalization but with stricter safeguards as bill advances.

Another craft-on-craft deal for a distressed asset, this time in Wisconsin. Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery signed a letter of intent to buy Public Craft Brewing Co in downtown Kenosha, after the fellow WI-based brewer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. Lakefront announced the move Fri, marking the "first acquisition by one of Milwaukee's oldest craft breweries," Biz Jnl wrote. Terms weren't disclosed, and sale still awaits final approval from a bankruptcy judge. Oppy also reportedly arose as Public Brewing's owners plan to retire.

Sierra Nevada's newest marketing campaign "Runs in the Family" looks to further underscore its independent, family-owned status while featuring flagship Pale Ale, #1 brand Hazy Little Thing IPA, seasonals and Trail Pass NA brews. The campaign "will run nationally across a variety of media outlets and trade programs" varying by mkt, "optimized to reach target audiences where they are most likely to consume media or purchase craft beverages," co stated, including combo of "static out-of-home billboards, events, digital out-of-home ad spaces, in-bar, in-grocer, digital retailer media, streaming TV, and podcasts." Examples of banner ads showcase sayings like: "Exploring Runs in the Family," while depicting a man getting ready to fish; "Refreshing Runs in the Family" for Sierra Summerfest; and "Bold Hops Run in the Family" for Torpedo IPA. All sport the tagline "STILL family-owned, operated, & argued over" too.